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Vietnamese Diaspora: A project on of Identity

Vietnamese Diaspora: A project on of Identity. Present the William Joiner Center project Identify the points of controversy Offer suggestions Bac-Sy NguyênlêHiêu, Ph.D. Shelton, Nebraska. Vietnamese Diaspora: The William Joiner Center (WJC).

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Vietnamese Diaspora: A project on of Identity

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  1. Vietnamese Diaspora:A project on of Identity • Present the William Joiner Center project • Identify the points of controversy • Offer suggestions Bac-Sy NguyênlêHiêu, Ph.D. Shelton, Nebraska bsh

  2. Vietnamese Diaspora:The William Joiner Center (WJC) • The William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequencesfounded in 1982 • Goals: • Veterans’ educational & social needs • Healing the consequences of war (healing process between the two countries) bsh

  3. Vietnamese Diaspora:The WJC In order to achieve those goals, WJC set up various programs: • Writers Exchange Program ) aimed at larger • Writers Workshop ) exposure of VN literature • The Indochina Poetry Program) • The Vietnam Institute ) for further dissemination • Translation project ) ambitious program for expanded diffusion bsh

  4. Vietnamese Diaspora:The WJC While working on the healing process, the co-director of WJC keeps showing contempt for (South) Vietnamese • “…heavy colonial baggage ” (French connection) • “…had already betrayed…” (US cooperation) • Vietnamese refugees: as “pebbles” (and worse…) bsh

  5. Vietnamese Diaspora • …fragment of broken pebbles drops of stagnant rainwater last rays of the dying sunlight… • … moss on the pebbles vapor above stagnant pool sunrays for ever delicate… Nguyễn bá Chung bsh

  6. Vietnamese Diaspora:The WJC • 1999: WJC initiated the project(Re)Construction Identity and Place in the Vietnamese Diaspora • Two ranking officials from Hanoi to come, observe then define their victims’ identity • Outcry within Vietnamese Community • Unsuccessful discussion • Class-Action suit bsh

  7. Vietnamese Diaspora:Mismatches • What went wrong? • No critics nor apologist • neutral terminology: MISMATCH • Array of mismatches: • Cultural • Methodological • Ideological • Personalities bsh

  8. Vietnamese Diaspora1- Cultural mismatch • Western culture: Crisis disrupting the equilibrium • Fight external force • Control internal pressure • Adjust to new situation *New Equilibrium *New skills/new Identity bsh

  9. Vietnamese Diaspora1-Cultural Mismatch: Western • Puritan: City upon a Hill (with Purity) • Religious Freedom: Church-oriented City • Group migration: Community-based society • Social harmony and stability: ”In all times, some must be rich and some poor...rich must show charity and mercy, poor accept the fact as God’s will.” John Winthrop bsh

  10. Vietnamese Diaspora1-Cultural Mismatch: Western • Turner’s thesis: the Frontier life gave New qualities: skillful, resourceful, self-reliant, brave --INDEPENDENT • Land abundance: opportunity ----SUCCESS • Individual spiritual & material success: ----EQUALITY Independence+ Success + Equality  DEMOCRACY bsh

  11. Vietnamese Diaspora1- Cultural Mismatch • Puritan:1625: Original identity: • Church & Spirituality • Community • Stable & stratified society ======1776:new identity: independence, material success, individualism, social mobility, equality, democracy The Puritan has become the Yankee bsh

  12. Vietnamese Diaspora:1- Cultural Mismatch: traditional Traditional Vietnamese culture values Integrity Confucian value: constant self Fatalistic approach: at the end, winner or looser, we remain true, identical to ourselves bsh

  13. Vietnamese Diaspora: Cultural MismatchIntegrity as in the case of the wife waiting the soldier-husband She waited, waited, waited, till the became rock. THE POINTE OF THE LONGING WIFE bsh

  14. Vietnamese Diaspora:1- Cultural Mismatch: traditional • Integrity: King Lê Chiêu-thống in exile in China • Head can be cut off but hair not be shortened • Skin can be peeled off but garment not be changed Exercise of futility? Do hair and costume have bearing on identity? At the end, all died in China not as Chinese but as Vietnamese bsh

  15. Vietnamese Diaspora:2- Methodological Mismatch: Western • Western researchers apply methodology acquired at their institutions to other groups in different settings. Their methodology seems to be universal. The success story of L.C. Thompson bsh

  16. Vietnamese Diaspora:2-Methodological Mismatch: Western • Speak Vietnamese • The French: “c’est un patois” • Virginia Thompson: Language adapted to the mentality of primitive people ……… . • L.C. Thompson: Vietnamese language uses more logical (topical) subjectat the difference of Indo-European languages which use more grammatical subject. (1965) bsh

  17. Vietnamese Diaspora2- Methodological Mismatch • Grammatical Subject: • Defines grammar for the rest of the sentence • I go out with my friends vs She goes out with her friends • Je suis Americain vsElle est Americaine • Bravo vs Brava • Professor Emeritus vs Professor Emerita bsh

  18. Vietnamese Diaspora2- Methodological Mismatch Self introduction • Grammatical subjecta- Tôi là John (I am John) -2 ways- b- Tên tôi là John (My name is John) Vietnamese Conversation 101 • Topical subject However, older native speaker would say….Tôi tên là John Topical focus : sub-topic : statements Tôi (me) : tên(name):là John :sinh-quán (home town) :ở Hà-nội : trú-quán(residence):Hoa-kỳ (USA) bsh

  19. Vietnamese Diaspora2- Methodological Mismatch Topical focusStatements : Sub-topics :Statements Ngày xưa có Anh : Người thì :rất xấu Trương Chi : (Appearance) :(ugly) Once lived a fisherman : Hát thì :rất hay : (voice) :(charming) ………………………..Success story but also misunderstanding and prejudice if local customs, history and culture are not taken in consideration… bsh

  20. Francis Garnier,adventurer,French Empire-builder,killed by Chinese Hanoi, not Hue bsh

  21. Ho Chi Minh:coalition government1946Bao-Dai:anti-communist government1948This analysis: c.1950 bsh

  22. Language adapted to thementality of primitive peopleLuc van Tien: unknown auteurless sensitive nervous system bsh

  23. Vietnamese Diaspora:3- Ideological Mismatch Mankind looks for TRUTH + BEAUTY + GOODNESS Western Ideology: Search for TRUTH • Rigorous reasoning: a=b; b=c therefore a=c (Aristotle) • Rigorous methodology: Cartesian method (René Descartes) bsh

  24. Vietnamese Diaspora:3- Ideological Mismatch • V-N: Integrity is an article of faith Research to affirm Integrity; goal: to show the GOODNESS • Anti-Communism: another article of faith Integrity and anti-Communism • We can understand why Vietnamese are appalled by the fact that Communist people with come and define their victims’ identity bsh

  25. Vietnamese Diaspora:4- Personality Mismatch *Nguyễn bá Chung *Nguyễn hữu Luyện • 1954: Exodus to the South - Officer, Armed Forces, RVN • 1966: escaped military draft - 21 years in communist jails • 1971: scholarship to the US - Close to VN community • Position in limbo/ambivalence - Expulsed from study • Ivory tower • New conviction • Late conversion to winning side bsh

  26. Vietnamese Diaspora:Proposition Where do we go from here? What lessons have we learned? • 1- Identity does not change overnight, even after a rude awakening. • New wording/concept: the Identity Journey (le trajet identitaire; cuộc hành-trình) bsh

  27. Vietnamese Diaspora • 2- Team approach: Two views from outside and within Best if can work together otherwise • Two teams working on two arms of the problem Publish both results together • Preceded by commentary from sounding board bsh

  28. Vietnamese Diaspora • 3- How to define Identity? • Self defined, self chosen? Or Labeling effect? Compare to biography and autobiography Philippe Lejeune; Trần dân Tiên • 4- Interesting new topic: • Does the community behave accordingly to professed identity bsh

  29. VietnameseDiaspora:In Search of Identity I have reviewed a project on identity by WJC. I have identified several causes of controversy. Based on this analysis, I have presented suggestions that can be included in future researches at the planning stage bsh

  30. Vietnamese Identity bsh

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